A legal petition has been filed by a coalition of public health and farm worker organizations, urging the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to prohibit the use of antibiotics on food crops in the United States. The petition emphasizes concerns that these practices may contribute to the emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, commonly referred to as “superbugs,” which pose health risks to farm workers and the general public.
The agricultural sector annually applies approximately 8 million pounds of antibiotic and antifungal pesticides to U.S. food crops, many of which are prohibited in other countries. This use of antibiotics as pesticides is said to threaten public health by fostering antibiotic resistance, making ordinary bacterial infections harder to treat. Additionally, the groups argue that the overuse of antifungal agents could lead to less treatable fungal infections.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), around 2.8 million individuals suffer from antibiotic-resistant infections each year in the U.S., resulting in approximately 35,000 deaths. The CDC has identified a connection between the use of “medically important antibiotics” as pesticides and a rise in antibiotic resistance. Documents from the Center for Biological Diversity suggest that a 2017 CDC study raised alarms about expanding antibiotic use in citrus farming.
Antibiotic residues can negatively impact the human gut microbiome and may contribute to chronic health issues, as well as contaminating drinking water and harming pollinators. The petition comes amid rising pressures to increase the deployment of human antibiotics in agriculture, especially as citrus greening disease threatens orchards in Florida.
The EPA has a designated timeframe of about five years to respond to the petition, during which it can enact a ban or provide justification for not doing so. If action is not taken, the organizations involved could pursue legal action, a process that may extend for more than a decade.
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/nov/30/antibiotics-spraying-farms-epa-bacteria-resistance